


Breaking Point

by EloquentDossier



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Established Relationship, Hotch is kind of a tease, M/M, Reid hates it, Resolved Sexual Tension, Slash, UST, Unresolved Sexual Tension, Voice Kink, a small touch of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-20
Updated: 2015-12-20
Packaged: 2018-05-07 09:25:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5451671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EloquentDossier/pseuds/EloquentDossier
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em>There was this <strong>thing</strong> about Aaron Hotchner's voice.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Reid couldn't quite pinpoint when it had started.  Perhaps it had always been there, hovering just beneath the surface and waiting for him to recognize it for what it was.  Or maybe it had simply been a recent, sudden development.  For once the "when" wasn't as much of a concern as it typically would be.  No; instead Reid was more interested in trying to discern just what he was going to do about the fact that Hotch had discovered it so quickly.  Possibly even before he himself had.</em>
</p><p>xxx</p><p>In which Reid <em>really</em> should have just admitted he liked Hotch's voice when he realized it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Breaking Point

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for [this prompt](http://hxr-prompt-meme.livejournal.com/489.html?thread=1001#t1001) and I saw that it's been filled already, but I started writing it the day it was posted, and it's been mostly finished just sitting in my drafts. Figured I'd take a moment to work on it and post it before I continued working on my fic previews. If there's interest in it, once I have more time I may add on a smutty "sequel" of sorts, probably just as a second chapter.
> 
> If you're interested in posting your own prompt, feel free to do it [here](http://hxr-prompt-meme.livejournal.com/489.html) and perhaps one of our lovely authors will write it for you. (;
> 
> Well, as always, I hope you guys enjoy! <3

There was this _thing_ about Aaron Hotchner's voice.

Reid couldn't quite pinpoint when it had started.  Perhaps it had always been there, hovering just beneath the surface and waiting for him to recognize it for what it was.  Or maybe it had simply been a recent, sudden development.  For once the "when" wasn't as much of a concern as it typically would be.  No; instead Reid was more interested in trying to discern just what he was going to do about the fact that Hotch had discovered it so quickly.  Possibly even before he himself had.

Actually, upon quick reflection of situations prior, Hotch had definitely noticed before he did.  It was almost practiced, as if Hotch had had ample time to gauge Reid's reactions to certain nuances; the Unit Chief never seemed to get it wrong.  (But then again, neither had brought it up, so it was always possible the genius wasn't reacting exactly the way Hotch expected; that particular thought made him feel a little better about it all.)

The fact of the matter was that Reid was entirely out of his element, and he hated it.  Usually, he was the one conducting the experiment, so things were always in his control: the steady collection of results, the amount of time spent gathering, the choice of speaking up about it or keeping mum after...  The entire situation had him completely off-kilter.

"Spencer."

The deep, slightly hoarse voice startled him from his thoughts almost violently; he even jerked at the suddenness of it.  "...yes?"

"You're thinking so hard I can feel it."  Reid glanced at his partner, and the combination of Hotch's closed eyes and the soft sleep-coated lilt to Hotch's voice caused warmth to bloom inside his chest.  Moments like this were his favorite; they were the times when Hotch showed implicit trust in him, and that was always something that struck him with awe.  "Stop staring at me, and go to sleep, Spencer," Hotch ordered.  "We always need you at your best during cases."

Reid smiled to himself simply because he knew Hotch couldn't see it, and with a soft sigh he settled on his side underneath the covers.  Unconsciously the pace of his breathing began to match that of Hotch's across the room, and he barely managed a soft, "Good night, Aaron." 

The quiet rumble of, "Good night, Spence," in return had him smiling as he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Oftentimes it wasn't a big deal.  The different lilts to Hotch's voice were easy enough to identify, and it wasn't as though Hotch ever used the knowledge against him.  Mostly the Unit Chief utilized a gentle, deceptively quiet and lighter tone to motivate him or to calm him.  Then there was the less-used soft lilt that he used to bring Reid's attention to him or to halt his rambling (though he'd learned Hotch actually enjoyed how animated he got when such a thing occurred, which was why the older man didn't cut him off midstream as quickly as the rest).  Of course there were also the extremely rare, sharper but deeper nuances of controlled anger or irritation if Reid was perhaps going a step too far when speaking to a witness or family member, or if he had ignored an order that put him, the team, or any others in danger.

What got to him the most but was (thankfully) used the least, however, was the powerful, deep tone sometimes reserved for cocky unsubs or prisoner interviews.  There was something about it that made his breath catch in his throat, sent pleasure tripping down his spine, and left him in a heightened state of awareness for the rest of the day.  However, he'd though he hadn't exhibited an alteration in his behavior those days.  He'd done his best to allow Hotch to instigate anything those evenings, or to ensure he directed them that way as earnestly as he normally did.

Apparently, he'd erred at some point, though.

* * *

"Reid, I need these files done before lunch," Hotch ordered as he set a stack down on the younger man's desk.

Reid's head snapped up immediately, his eyes widening and his lips parting just barely to take in a quiet breath.  It was nearly a visceral reaction as heat prickled beneath his skin, and he silently cursed as he felt his heart rate pick up in slight excitement.  He cleared his throat and nodded, murmuring a quick, "Yes, sir," because he didn't trust himself to say anything more.

Hotch turned and headed back towards his office, and Prentiss faced Reid, her expression one of shock.  "What did you do?"

Fighting the ridiculous urge to blush, Reid shrugged as his gaze fell on the pile of folders.  He knew he could do it; Hotch wouldn't ask him to do something beyond his limits.  But it wasn't just the unusual request that confused him.  It was the tone of voice Hotch had used, the one Reid had done his best to hide his response to.  "I'm not sure," he answered honestly.

"Well, you might need to figure it out because that looks like punishment, my friend," Morgan remarked from his desk.  It was a measure of how focused Reid was on filtering through everything he'd done or hadn't done the past few days that the younger man didn't send him a dirty look.

Prentiss's, "If you want, I can take a few,"  _did_ warrant a reply, however.

"Thank you for the offer, but he'll know if you do that, and he obviously wants me to do it," Reid murmured, pulling the first folder off the stack and opening it.  With a deep, steadying breath, he forced himself to focus on the case in front of him.

That turned out to be increasingly difficult, however.  Hotch came out of his office several times that morning, which was rare, and every time he would speak in that  _damned_  deep rumble with the steel undertone that practically oozed power.  Reid's lip was swollen from where he'd been biting down on it, and his hands were cramping from tightening around his pen each time the Unit Chief spoke.  He was quite certain the older man was doing it on purpose, but he couldn't determine  _why_.  It was absolutely maddening, and he wasn't sure how much more he could take.

By the time he finished the final file, his handwriting was close to being illegible, and he was remotely worried Hotch would ask him to do it again.  Hotch's odd behavior had pretty much cleared the bullpen just before the typical lunch hour, which Reid was thankful for given he was painfully aroused.  He dropped his head into his hands, taking slow and deep breaths in an effort to simply will his erection away before he even attempted to walk to Hotch's office.

"Reid."

The genius barely managed to cut off the choking noise he made as he lifted his head and faced the dark-haired man.  "Please don't do that," he whispered.  It wasn't until after he spoke that realized his plea could be taken two different ways, and he hoped Hotch assumed it was both.  He hated when the Unit Chief snuck up on him at his desk, and he _really_ needed Hotch to stop with the voice.

When Hotch spoke again, both his expression and his tone were gentle and helped settle Reid's frayed nerves enough to take the edge off.  "Take a moment to collect yourself and then come to my office, all right?"  He nodded to show he'd heard, and then Hotch gathered the files he'd finished and walked away.

It didn't take him too long to calm down enough to stand and make his way up to Hotch's office.  The older man was waiting for him near the door when he walked in, and Reid stopped barely two steps in.  "Hotch?" he questioned warily.

"Shut the door," Hotch answered softly, and Reid swallowed but did as requested.  When he turned to face his superior again, Hotch was standing directly in front of him, and he stumbled backwards reflexively, his back hitting the door.  Barely a breath later, warm lips were slotted over his as gentle hands slid into a familiar placement along his jaw.  He gasped at the first nip to his lower lip, garnering a more earnest response from Hotch, who took advantage of his parted lips, tongue stroking deep into his mouth and muffling his moans.

The edge was back, and Reid tried to find some relief, but Hotch had angled them perfectly; he whimpered at the realization. Hotch pulled away just barely, pressing their foreheads together and taking in a deep breath while Reid panted.  "Aaron," he whined plaintively.

"No."  Hotch was back to the voice from earlier, and Reid couldn't stop his shudder as heat sparked along his skin.  "I've given you months to bring this up.  Four, to be exact.  I noticed six months ago, but you hadn't entirely tuned into it by then.  I spent two months becoming less subtle, and once I realized you'd become aware of it, I backed off."  Hotch kissed him once more, just enough to tease, teeth dragging along his lower lip.  " _Four_ months, Spencer.    And now your four hours are up.  I won't use it the rest of the day."

Reid was stunned as Hotch took a step away from him and smiled boyishly before turning around and walking to his desk.  "Feel free to relax in here for a bit.  I'll go ahead and start looking over these files."

As Hotch settled in his seat, seemingly unfazed, Reid scowled and started planning his revenge.


End file.
